Daily Archives: October 22, 2012

Photos: Hispanic Excellence Scholarship and Community Award Gala

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The Hispanic Excellence Scholarships and Community Awards Gala was held on Thursday, October 18.  The GRCC Foundation is pleased to support the Committee to Honor César E. Chávez in meeting its goal.  In addition to the César E. Chávez Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the GRCC Foundation awards over 250 annual scholarships to GRCC students, and awards professional development grants to GRCC faculty and staff.

Congratulations to the following GRCC students who were awarded scholarships that night:

  • Nancy Alvarez
  • Keyla Espino
  • Natalie Ramos
  • Veronica Rodriguez
  • Sughey Soriano
  • Michael Vitales-Lanuza

Former GRCC employees Andy Bowne and Ed Sosa were honored for their work with the committee and in the community with the Hispanic Advocate Award and the Distinguished “Aguila” Award, respectively.  Congratulations!

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Basics of MS Office Workshops Presented by the ATC Open Computer Lab

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This week’s hands-on workshop will focus on the basics of MS EXCEL 2010 and is open to ALL students but limited to the first 24 participants per session.

  • Tuesday, October 16, 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM – room 219 ATC
  • Wednesday, October 17,  12:00 PM to 1:30 PM – room 219 ATC
  • Wednesday, October 17,  6:00 PM to 7:30 PM – room 219 ATC
  • Friday, October 19, 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM – room 219 ATC

Disability Support Services National Disability Awareness Month

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Famous people with disabilities include:

  • Beethoven – deafness
  • Alexander Graham Bell-hearing impairment
  • Julius Caesar-epilepsy
  • Jessica Alba- obsessive compulsive disorder
  • Roy Campanella-paraplegia
  • Agatha Christie-learning Disability
  • Thomas Edison-hearing impairment, learning disability
  • Katharine Hepburn-Parkinson’s disease
  • Helen Keller-blindness and deafness
  • Mary Tyler Moore-diabetes
  • Nelson Rockefeller-learning disability
  • Ernest Hemingway-learning disability
  • Wilma Rudolph-Polio
  • Stevie Wonder-blindness
  • Stephen Hopkins-Cerebral Palsy
  • Winston Churchill-learning disability
  • Justin Timberlake-obsessive compulsive disorder and attention deficit disorder

New and Updated GRCC Policies

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The following policies were recently approved by Cabinet or AGC:

Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect Policy  (new)

  • This is a new policy developed because GRCC faculty and staff  have increasing contacts with minors through our Middle College program and other GRCC programs and services.
  • State law defines “mandated reporters” of abuse and neglect. This policy will require all faculty and staff to report suspected abuse.
  • Provides contact information for making reports.
  • Provides information on how to identify abuse and neglect

Personally Identifiable Information Policy (PII) (New)

  • This is a new policy that has been developed to reduce risk when handling confidential data
  • Provides students and employees and contractors with information on how to avoid risky business practices when working with PII
  • Policy supports compliance with PCI-DSS, HIPAA, FERPA and GLBA
  • Policy defines public and protected PII
  • Encourages identification and modification of current risky business practices with help from the Information Security Department
  • This will be the first policy in a new policy section:  Information Technology

Freedom of Information Act Policy (revised)

  • Corrected format
  • Clarified language throughout policy
  • Moved paragraph regarding cooperation with federal agencies from Section IV Entities Affected by this Policy to Section XI Procedures

Prior Learning Assessment Policy (new)

  • Recognize respect for skills and knowledge acquired outside traditional classroom settings
  • Award academic credit for college level learning which leads to degrees
  • Comply with Higher Learning Commission Criteria: Academic Programs-Quality, Resources and Support (3-1.g)

The new policies have been added to the website.

Chefs Coach Students on Heritage Menu Items

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Pictured: Chef Nicola Conte, guest Italian chef from Scotland, with Jay Smith, long time friend of SICE and sponsor of Chef Nicola, and Chef Campbell coach the finishing touches on the Heritage lunch menu items.

The Heritage opens Wednesday, October 24 for lunch and Thursday October 25 for dinner.  Join us for our next term.  Make your reservations through OpenTable at our Website www.grcc.edu/heritage  The Heritage won the award from our customers as one of the best new restaurants to OpenTable this season.

Admissions Moves to Main Building

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The GRCC Admissions team members have moved from their former offices in Sneden Hall to the Main Building.  Eric Mullen, Sandy Gregory, and Angela Salinas are located in Main 123, and Sara Brooks is in the Enrollment Center.  Feel free to call us at extension 3567 if you have any questions or need more information.

Wellness Student of the Week: Stephen Syarto

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What are some benefits that you have experienced through the PE/Wellness Department classes you have taken?

I am currently taking Aerobic Conditioning Program and Beginning Weight Training with Jodi Kuyt, Intermediate Yoga Tone and Stretch with Melanie Schiele-Gady, and Circuit Training and Physical Fitness with Lannie Collard.  After my second deployment to Iraq as an Infantryman with the Army, I had a yearlong break in service.  Due to a serious back injury from an IED I got really out of shape and nothing seemed to be working.  Thanks to the Wellness Department I now max my pushups and sit ups and run my 2 mile time at the top Army standard!  I set the example for fitness at my unit.  In my classes I also learned how to eat healthy, and my energy level has exploded!  I teach my four boys how to live healthy, eat healthy, and enjoy life.  I’m able to do more with them outdoors, including running and biking.  My youngest son has Down Syndrome which means he has low muscle tone.  I have learned exercises in yoga that will help him as he gets older to develop a stronger core and normal muscle tone.  I thought yoga was going to be easy but it turned out to be harder than any workout I had ever done.  Melanie has broadened my fitness horizons, helped me to be more flexible, and decreased my stress level dramatically.  Lannie and Jodi have managed to push me to my limits every single class and I could not believe it when they were matching me push up for push up, running me to my breaking point and forcing me to step outside my comfort zone in order to better myself.  I absolutely love how great I feel every day after class.  My family and friends notice the huge change.  I’ve already lost ten pounds of fat and I feel great.  My aerobics class and circuit training class have given me workouts that I bring to my soldiers, and have helped me feel better, sleep better, and be in better shape than my soldiers.  The weight training helps me stay strong while my cardio and flexibility keep getting better.

 

What goals do you want to achieve taking these classes?

I want to lose weight and be more versatile in my overall fitness, not just a weight lifter or runner.  I want to be in better shape and be more educated in my health so I can set the standard for my family and be around longer for them.  In general I want to live a healthier lifestyle that will benefit my family and my soldiers both physically and mentally.

 

How are you making fitness part of your daily life?

I am making better diet choices.  I am now keeping track of my blood pressure and my cholesterol.  I am exercising at least five days a week.  The classes I am taking have changed my life.  We have people at every fitness level and age group.  I’ve learned that exercise does not have to be long or dragged out and can be something fun that I look forward to.  No matter how out of shape or in shape you think you are, these classes tailor workouts that will push you in new ways without causing injury.  Each person is pushed to succeed, and everyone encourages one another.  It’s the kind of camaraderie I love about the military.  We all want to help each other succeed and we are all going to push each other and support one another.  It’s been a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their outlook on life.  It’s not just about looking better and feeling less stressed It’s about having a more positive outlook on life that helps me to be more successful and a better person.

Learning Opportunities from Staff Development

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Staff Development is pleased to offer two sessions focused on developing healthy work teams and greater interpersonal relationships. Please enroll online at http://cms.grcc.edu/currentlearning

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Thur Nov 1, 2012

9-11:00 AM

124 ATC

This development session is based on the book of the same name by Patrick Lencioni, who is also the author of The Five Temptations of a CEO. Subtitled A Leadership Fable, this work of fiction takes the reader, step-by-step, through the common traps to which anyone belonging to a team is susceptible. Clearly and succinctly, Lencioni takes the reader on a very visual journey into a non-existent company, through the leadership changes, and into the very real perils of the leadership team, some committed unknowingly…some quite intentional. This is an excellent session for intact work teams and/or individuals who want to find out more about the processes of both dysfunctional and healthy teams.

Learning Objectives:  In this class, participants will learn:

  • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
  • The specific dysfunctions that you, as an individual, may contribute to the team.
  • The techniques for decreasing the potential to engage those dysfunctions.
  • Good leadership skills for leading a team out of the “dysfunction mode.”

SafeZone Training

Thur Nov. 8, 2012

8:30 AM – 1:30 PM

122 LRC

The SafeZone program is a diversity education program that includes all individuals in a personal journey toward greater understanding and inclusion (regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, weight, height, marital status, status as a Vietnam era veteran, and disability, as a reflection of  the GRCC EEOC statement). The program philosophy provides not only a safe space for all people, but also increases communication and understanding among people. One of the goals of SafeZone is to emphasize that all individuals will be treated and respected as human beings.  Further, the program emphasizes that ignorance, bigotry, and harassment will not be tolerated in an environment of learning.

Learning Objectives:  Participants will be able to identify:

  • how the issues of discrimination are manifest in their work environments
  • how socio-economic conditions contribute to discrimination
  • what can be done individually and collectively to deal with these condition

Math Seminar: To Infinity and Beyond

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The Grand Rapids Community College Mathematics Department will host its second monthly Mathematics Seminar of the 2012-2013 academic year tomorrow, October 23, 3:00 – 4:00 PM in 109 Cook.  Our speaker will be GRCC Mathematics Adjunct Instructor and Professional Tutor Kelly Rozin. The infinite has awed and inspired human thought for millennia.  This talk will be accessible to a wide audience and has the potential to promote significant discussion amongst students and faculty.  Pop and cookies will be served at 2:45 PM.

“To Infinity and Beyond”

A great poet, William Blake, once wrote, “To see the world in a grain of sand, and see heaven in a wild flower, to hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour.” One might think that these words are silly a paradox that can never exist, but others might think it’s possible. Can you really hold infinity in the palm of your hand? Is it tangible? Does it exist? This talk will go into the discovery and history of infinity and what it actually means to be infinite. It will also describe the different methods of proving infinity’s existence and how it is used in the world of mathematics and our everyday lives.